Adult-Gerontological Acute Care Nurse Practitioner

RN Nurse smiling in the hospital

 

Apply 

An online program for the nurse practitioner specializing in Adult-Gerontological Acute Care Nursing is offered at the University of South Alabama College of Nursing. The MSN program prepares graduates for advanced nursing practice and for doctoral study. Graduates of the program are able to synthesize and apply advanced knowledge, theories, and research to a specialized area of nursing practice and function as leaders in practice to contribute to the advancement of the nursing profession.

Students entering the Adult-Geron Acute Care track must have at least two years of recent (within the past five years) direct patient care experience in Acute Care (i.e., EMERGENCY, ICU, or MED-SURG) with one of those two years required to be in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) upon admission. Specialty areas such as the Cath lab, GI lab, Radiology, OR, Recovery Room etc. are not considered Acute Care management.

A common core of courses are offered online including concepts, theory, research, and issues related to advanced nursing practice.

Students in the online track will be required to attend an orientation session on campus in the Fall when the AHN specialty courses begin. In addition, the students may be required to return to campus following semesters during their specialty courses and the last semester (internship) for a final exam and presentations. Details will be announced as the semesters approach.

▼   Advanced Practice Clinical Skills Intensive

All students in the Adult-Geron Acute Care Nurse Practitioner specialty are required to attend one* mandatory Clinical Skills Intensives (CSI) during the fall term in which they are enrolled in AHN 568 and AHN 571.

The clinical skills intensive provides hands-on instruction for common advanced practice assessments and procedures pertinent to the acute care setting. Instruction is provided by the USA Simulation Program. 

Students must sign-up to attend one session and can select preferred dates on a first come, first serve basis. Simulation will contact students via JagMail with information on how to sign-up three months prior to the scheduled dates. 

Please note the dates are for Clinical Skills Intensives only. The track coordinator may provide orientation dates, which are separate from CSI and Simulation.

Adult-Geron Acute Care NP Clinical Skills Intensive Dates

▼   American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN)
Graduates who complete the Adult-Gerontology ACNP program meet educational eligibility for national certification through the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN).
▼   Curriculum

BSN-MSN students complete all support, MSN core, and MSN specialty courses for a total of 45 credit hours.  The MSN degree must be completed within five years of matriculation.

Curriculum
Support Courses
NU 518 - Advanced Nursing Assessment 3 credit hours
NU 545 - Physio-pathological Basis of Advanced Nursing 3 credit hours
NU 578 - Pharmacology for Advanced Practice Nurses 3 credit hours
MSN Core Courses
NU 607 - Scientific Underpinnings of Advanced Nursing Practice 3 credit hours
NU 608 - Evidence-Based Practice and Quality Improvement in Healthcare 3 credit hours
NU 610 - Healthcare Policy and Finance 3 credit hours
NU 613 - Organizational & Systems Leadership 3 credit hours
Adult-Gerontological Acute Care NP Specialty Courses
AHN 568 - Introduction to Adult-Geron Acute Care NP 3 credit hours
AHN 571 - Health Promotion/Disease Prevention & Issues for Adult-Geron Acute Care NP 2 credit hours
AHN 572 - Adult-Geron Acute Care NP I 3 credit hours
AHN 573 - Adult-Geron Acute Care NP Practicum I - 180 Clinical Hours 3 credit hours
AHN 574 - Adult-Geron Acute Care NP II 3 credit hours
AHN 575 - Adult-Geron Acute Care NP Practicum II - 180 Clinical Hours 3 credit hours
AHN 576 - Adult-Geron Acute Care NP Practicum III - 240 Clinical Hours 4 credit hours
AHN 577 - Adult-Geron Acute Care NP III 3 credit hours
RN to MSN students who are registered nurses with a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in a non-nursing discipline must also complete the following courses.
RN-MSN Courses
NU 506 - Evidence-Based Practice & Informatics for Professional Nurses 4 credit hours
NU 507 - Leadership & Management Roles for Professional Nurses 4 credit hours
NU 508 - Clinical Prevention and Population Health for Professional Nurses 4 credit hours
▼   Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Certification

The University of South Alabama Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program provides the skills necessary for a rewarding career. Graduates are prepared to complete the appropriate national certification exam and may be eligible to apply for licensure to practice as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN).

Contacts

For information and help with setting up your graduate degree program contact the CON Office of Graduate studies: congrad@southalabama.edu

Please feel free to contact Dr. Jennifer Miller for more information about this specialty: jennifermiller@southalabama.edu..